A Texas woman has pleaded guilty to smuggling a spider monkey into the United States from Mexico in a box she claimed was full of beer.
Savannah Valdez, 20, was crossing into the US from Mexico through the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas in March when border officials noticed a wooden box with holes inside her car. She claimed it contained beer she had purchased in Mexico, according to news release from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Upon further inspection, however officers realized that the box did not contain beer, but an endangered spider monkey. Before they could detain her for a second inspection, however, Valdez sped away “running a traffic light and nearly colliding with officers and other vehicles,” the release stated.
A Texas woman entering the US told border officials the wooden box in her car was filled with beer. In reality, it was an endangered spider monkey she planned to sell. https://t.co/rbPE7h8Hbl
— CNN (@CNN) November 20, 2022
Agents found multiple online advertisements in the Houston area for the spider monkey, which listed her phone number, later that day. Valdez turned herself in a week later, admitting to knowingly importing the monkey despite not declaring it and intentionally fleeing from law enforcement, according to the release.
“Smuggling in endangered species for commercial gain is a tragic crime against nature’s precious resources,” said Craig Larrabee of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Antonio, per CNN. “HSI takes every opportunity to join our federal, private sector and international partners to share our knowledge, experience and investigative techniques designed to protect and preserve threatened and endangered species,” he added. (RELATED: Man Charged After Allegedly Smuggling 1,700 Reptiles, Some Of Which Were Hidden In His ‘Groin Area’)
Valdez will face sentencing in January 2023 and faces up to twenty years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine, the release stated.